A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a target portion of a substrate. Lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that circumstance, a patterning device, such as a mask, may be used to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. including part of one or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer) that has a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively exposed. Known lithographic apparatus include steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at once, and scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through the projection beam in a given direction (the “scanning” direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. In a lithographic apparatus as described above a device for generating radiation or radiation source will be present.
In a lithographic apparatus, the size of features that can be imaged onto a substrate may be limited by the wavelength of the projection radiation. To produce integrated circuits with a higher density of devices, and hence higher operating speeds, it is desirable to be able to image smaller features. While most current lithographic projection apparatus employ ultraviolet light generated by mercury lamps or excimer lasers, it has been proposed to use shorter wavelength radiation of around 13 nm. Such radiation is termed extreme ultraviolet, also referred to as XUV or EUV, radiation. The abbreviation ‘XUV’ generally refers to the wavelength range from several tenths of a nanometer to several tens of nanometers, combining the soft x-ray and vacuum UV range, whereas the term ‘EUV’ is normally used in conjunction with lithography (EUVL) and refers to a radiation band from approximately 5 to 20 nm, i.e. part of the XUV range.
A discharge produced (DPP) source generates plasma by a discharge in a substance, for example a gas or vapor, between an anode and a cathode, and may subsequently create a high-temperature discharge plasma by Ohmic heating caused by a pulsed current flowing through the plasma. In this case, the desired radiation is emitted by the high-temperature discharge plasma. Such a device is described in European Patent Application No. 03255825.6, filed Sep. 17, 2003 in the name of the applicant. This application describes a radiation source providing radiation in the EUV range of the electromagnetic spectrum (i.e. of 5-20 nm wavelength). The radiation source includes several plasma discharge elements, and each element includes a cathode and an anode. During operation, the EUV radiation is generated by creating a pinch.
Generally, a plasma is formed by a collection of free-moving electrons and ions (atoms that have lost electrons). The energy needed to strip electrons from the atoms to make plasma can be of various origins: thermal, electrical, or light (ultraviolet light or intense visible light from a laser). More details on the pinch, the laser triggering effect and its application in a source with rotating electrodes may be found in J. Pankert, G. Derra, P. Zink, Status of Philips' extreme-UV source, SPIE Proc. 6151-25 (2006).
In addition to this radiation, the discharge source typically produces debris particles, among which can be all kinds of microparticles varying in size from atomic to complex particles up to 100 micron droplets, which can be both charged and uncharged. It is desired to limit the contamination of the optical system that is arranged to condition the beams of radiation coming from an EUV source from this debris. A problem with DPP-based EUV sources is the thermal load on the electrodes due to their close proximity to the plasma. This may become particularly relevant when scaling the EUV source to meet the specifications for a production exposure tool.